Dakota Beacon

In 1848, the Communist Manifesto was published in London by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It's manifestation as the “Soviet” system of the USSR represented a far more radical innovation than it would if it were concerned merely with ownership. The nationalization of the means of production involves a radical shift in the power structure, especially in the eminence accorded to the central planning bodies. A “Soviet” system enables the party machine to have a monopoly of power, for they have all but the legal attributes of ownership. Above all, it allows a few who are the new elite to seek to control the total lives of the masses.

It is precisely these “elites” with “monopoly power” that have applied “central planning” in revoking permitting for the privately funded Keystone XL pipeline (projected to transport 830,000 barrels/day) that was approved by the United States and Canada to transport crude oil from the Bitumen Sands in Alberta Canada to markets in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, charges about $30/barrel to transport about 80% of the crude oil from the Bitumen Sands of Alberta, Canada to the Midwest and Texas, with profits amounting to about $2 Billion/year. Upon completion of the Keystone XL, these profits will largely be lost. The pipeline will transport the same oil at a cost of around $10/barrel. So we can all understand why Mr. Buffet is a Democrat and contributes mightily to Democrats.

Crude oil transported by rail peaked in 2014 at about 35 Million barrels/month; lately it fluctuates around 10 Million barrels/month. Bitumen Sands investments peaked in 2013-14 at $30 Billion/month.

The controlling shareholders of Alberta's Bitumen Sands operations represent the following countries:

United States, Canada, Norway, China, Japan, France, United Kingdom, and First Nations

Canadian consumption of crude oil has been steady at 2.3 Million barrels /day; Canadian crude oil production, however, is nearing 5 Million barrels/day. Canadian oil has replaced the loss of about 2 Million barrels/day of Venezuelan oil to markets in the United States.

Fact: The GHG (green house gas) emissions of Coal-fired power plants in the United States dwarf the GHG emissions of Bitumen Sands operations in Alberta, Canada.

Fact: I personally visited two Bitumen Sands development properties in Alberta in the 1990s as part of a benchmarking team. The locals have a saying: “Nature spilled oil all over the place. We're just cleaning it up.” This is literally the fact on the ground; the long and short of it is that sand that contained bitumen is replaced with clean sand.

Fact: Transportation represents about 27.5% of GHG emissions in Canada: Bitumen Sands operations represent about 6.5% of GHG emissions in Canada. Return to rail transportation will produce far more GHG emissions than would pipeline transportation. Railroads run on diesel fuel you know…

Fact: Canada is the ONLY exporter of crude oil to the United States that is GHG regulated. Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Nigeria and Venezuela are unregulated. Canada has spent $2 Billion for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) research and demonstration, the most in the world for a single project. Canada's GHG emissions represent 0.1% of the world's GHG emissions.

Fact: Water used in the Bitumen Sands operations is 80% to 95% recycled.

Fact: Bitumen Sands operations represent 12.2% of Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Fact: The Keystone XL pipeline represents 11,000 construction jobs, 8,000 of which are union jobs.

Summary:

A promise of the Democrat candidate was to re-gain respect in the world for the United States Government. Promise not kept. Ask the countries listed above?

A promise of the Democrat candidate was to improve our economy with high paying union jobs. Promise not kept. Ask 8,000 union workers who will be laid off.

A promise of the Democrat candidate was to support private investment in GHG reductions. Promise not kept. Canada left in the “Lurch” (John Kerry).

Is our current President a Democrat… or is he a Socialist/Communist exercising his power of Central Planning? Ask anyone with an IQ above 50.

And perhaps most importantly of all… are you really a Democrat? Or are you what Marx and Engels called a “useful idiot”... what your party today calls a “progressive”? Elections have consequences.

Love = Work + Courage